Appliance for amphibious warfare



Feb. 23, 1954 J, N. LAYCOCK APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1'7, 1951 J. N. LAYCOCK APPLIANCE FORAMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Feb. 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1?, 1951 v &

' Feb. 23, 1954 LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Filed May 17, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Feb. 23, 1954 J. N. LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Filed Mayl7, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wmzy Feb. 23, 1954 Filed May- 17, 1951 4 J. N. LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 z ivewi oe' PatentedFeb. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to portable folding buoyant units useful,particularly in military operations, for bridges, landing ramps,wharves, and the like.

Although capable of a Wide variety of uses, the buoyant unit of myinvention affords a satisfactory solution to some of the most crucialproblems encountered in amphibious warfare, where there is involved themovement of masses of men and equipment from Vessels to landing placesordinarily extremely inconveniently arranged by nature for the purpose.

For example I contemplate a combination of buoyant frame units capableof assembly in a few hours to provide a water-borne landing field largerthan the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, whereby fighter protectionmay be provided to cover a landing in the minimum time and withoutexposing carriers to enemy attack.

Furthermore buoyant units constructed in accordance with my inventionmay quickly be arranged to provide landing ramps, Wharves, or bar elighters with the added advantage of rapid conversion from one such useto another.

Alternatively the units may readily be trans ported by land for use aspontoon bridges or as trussed bridge spans without pontoon support.

An important feature of my invention resides in the combination of adeck supported by a tubular skeleton frame which also serves to storecompressed air for use in servicing collapsible inflatable pontoonssecured beneath the deck.

Another important feature of the invention consists in an arrangement ofvalves and conduits by means of which all the pontoons associated with astring of units may quickly be inflated, each pontoon and each unitbeing isolated from all the others so that a failure of one pontoon orunit will not affect the others.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of hingedconnections permitting any desired number of units to be seriallyconnected and folded into a compact upright stack for transportation ina suitable vessel, ready for quick release.

Still another feature of the invention consists in trussed panels hingedto the sides of each buoyant unit, adapted to be stored in the stack inflat condition but easily swung down and locked in substantiallyvertical position to provide the unit with truss support of greatrigidity and stiffness, thereby imparting sufficient stability towithstand stresses imposed by massive deck loads or heavy seas.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be morereadily understood and appreciated from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes ofillustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of two complete buoyant units constructed andcoupled together in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the units shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of one unit with the side panel indropped position,

Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section similar to 4 but showing a typicalpontoon in inflated condition,

Fig. 6 is a view in end elevation,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the lateral connection oftwo units,

Fig. 7a is a fragmentary view of a link connection,

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of a partially unfolded stack ofserially connected units,

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of the corners of a unit illustratingthe operation of the locking strut,

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view in elevation showing the manner oflaterally connecting several craft units, and

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic plan view of a buoyant unit illustrating theinflation piping and valve system.

By reference particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 it may be seen that eachunit is organized about a skeleton frame of rectangular outline andcomposed of hollow metal tubes of relatively large diameter fitted andwelded at their ends to form four parallel longitudinal stringers 29 andthree lateral frame members 22, thus providing six rectangularinterstitial compartments. A steel grating 24, similar to thatconventionally used in stout ropes or canvas straps 32 as shown in Fig.5. 'At its upper end the bag is suitably secured to Fig.

the deck grating 24 in any convenient manner. A length of weak rope orrotten cord 36 is roven through pad eyes 34 mounted on the sides of thetubes 20 and 22 adjacent each pontoon and serves, by bearing on thebottom plate 30, to maintain the pontoon in collapsed storage positionsnug against the deck. The number and placement of the bags is a matterof choice.

W n th pontoon 28 is inflated, the line 36 breaks, and the bag distendsto the condition shown in Figs. and 6. It is contemplated that the tubesand 22 will be made of aluminum or light gauge steel and so dimensionedthat the unit will be fairly buoyant prior to the dmlation of thepontoons 23, but upon their inflation the buoyancy greatly increases andthe craft rides high in the water.

The two outer tubes 20 are each provided with three pairs of relativelymassive hinge plates 38 extending horizontally outward to provide pivotconnections for zthree-stout rods 40 each of which isrwelded at.itsoutenend to along tu e 42 equal in length to that of the tubes 20and bra ed y a pair .ofdiagonal :rods A l running rfromgthe tube 42 tothe rods .40. There is thus provided .a trussed panel :hinged to the.side of the nnit, norma'llystored in :fiatposition but easily :Swungdownwardly to approximately vertical position .or .at right:anglesttolthe zframeasa whole.

In order to lock the side panel in depending positionnI provide .apairnfstruts 46 each .held in inactive position by a spring clip 18 redtoithertubes rz. :Eachstrut is ivotallyconnected at its base to one ofthe end rods 4&3 by .a hinge 50 'Theother endofreachrstrutltfi hasaclevis to matchea. ring fiksecured .to'athe bottom of1the end tube 22. Aline 56 is secured adjacentthe free end of each :strutilfi .and.connected to the deck 521%, .;there being a {hole in the ;deck by meansof which a crew member may reach .dOWn "Pull the :lineiifi :to.free-ithe strut from :the spring clip 48 and then draw the strutvertically (about I shall now proceed to describe -,the;system by meansof which the pontoonstare sim ltaneousl inflated'fromiasinglecontrolvalve.

In Fig. 11 there appears a longitudinal pipe-or I conduit :56. connect dby a; conduit or to gthe side tube'i iiLither-erbeingaimanualxvalvetfill controll n thez flow :of compressemair from :theside tube 6;!!- throu h a conduit 1:62. The side tube s0 is one of .theskeletonirame tubes ,Zfl, but ia difierent reference character vha beenemployed .to

emphasizethat the tube as .here considered .is a

storage tank for compressed air and isa separate air-tight compartment.

.A.-fiexible connection-168 isprovided at the end of the pipe .65 andleads to a similar pipe .10.

running d wn the side-oi thenext adjacent unit 1 v attheright. Froma Tunion J2 ,abranch pipe It leads to a pressure operated valve 7 6controllingthe supply of compressed air from ahtube compartment '18through .a conduit into .a. plp,e loop 1.5. Theloop J9has branchconnections to six presstu'eoperatedv valves .84 to supply the sixpontoons A, B, C, D, and J3 .fromsix storage compartments Af, vB, C, D,E, and F respectively. Associated in theline with each valve, isapressure regulatingvalveBB. I g

When the valve 64 is manually opened, the tube compartment at oncesupplies air under pressure to the pipe 66. The pressure in the pipe 66then acts to open the valve 16 so that the loop 79 is supplied with airunder pressure from the tube 18. The pressure in the loop then openseach of the valves 84 to permit compressed air to fill the pontoons AFfrom the compartments A'-.F' respectiv ye va ves .6 and 4 may be of thetype shown in the United States patent to Bliss No. 1,566,814. Thepressure regulating Halves 86 shut down automatically and independentlyas each pontoon reaches a predetermined pressure. The Naive-:86 may beof the type shown in the United States patent to Deisbrock No. 158,768.it will be remembered that the l'ashings 36.;areibrQ-ken asthe pontoonsexpand (see Figs. 4 and 5).

Similarly the pressure in the line 66 is transmitted through theconnection 68 to the line 10 andso on through theseries of craft unitswhich may have been coupled to form a stringoidesired dimensions. Theinfiatingsystem is the same-for all the units.

Inasmuch as :the inflation of each pontoon {is froma separatecompartment and the valve system .is arranged to :isolate each zv-alve 83, the presence of aleakin one-pontoon drone compartmentzha no effector;the others. Furthermore the valve 16 maybe operated hyzhandaso that afailure or leak in the compartment-shame valve 54, or the line 55 doesnotzmean'thatwthe pontoons of each craft :unit cannot be inflated.

The inflating system as-abovedescribed .is pa ticularly valu hl--where-time isof pr mary importance since the frames-may he filled atileisure prior to agiven military operation, the inflation f th pon onsthere takin plac -in theminimum time during the-p og ss of theoperation. te nat ly, however. t .units may be inflated y a c nventionalc mpres or of modera e size with simpl r ipin a d controls.

Lcom owtoaconsi ratio of the ma n in which the suits previouslydescribed-.may-beicom e t d in series ;or -.parallel or h t-11in order povid s o ti s decks o d sir le th and width.

To-afiord serial connection ,I. provide vrelatively massive hinge plateswel ed to the ends of t e longitudinal fram members 20. All .one end ofeachiunitthere are upwardl inolinedhinge plates I00, whileatjthe'otherendhinge plates 1.92 are inclined. downwa d y. iThis ;is.c1ear1y own in a 3. ,T e hin plates e rre e a l inathe form of castinach eempr ns (as shown i Fig. 12) a 'U+shaped;endplate as havin a ;inte

ral inward y nding annu a flange p rtion Integral with .theplate -39 aplurality ofwer tical hinge-plates -,-I llfl disposed in sparallel .ar-

rangement perpendiculantoihe reinforcingstrap ml. Allrof the hin es-areidentified; the reference. characters. l,9li.,.and .LUZbeinausedtoentiate @between. those hinges disposed. to extend upwardly and ,thosewhich, areinverted ,topxtend downwardly.

The alternate use of upwardly and downwardly aseme tee s-metastabl issuea serial or end to end connection shown in Fig. 3, and this inturnpermits folding successive raft units into a stack as shown in Fig. 8.

It is contemplated that a folded stack of units in vertical formation asshown in Fig. 8 will be carried, properly blocked and shored, in avessel having a section fitted similarly to the dry dock portion of anLSD. Such a section may be flooded and then opened to the sea.Subsequently a tow line H3 may be secured to theoutboard unit, and a tugcan tow the unfolding string of trussed craft units out of the ship. Toprevent sudden uncontrollable unfolding of the stack, successive unitsmay be lashed lightly together as shown at H6, so that the stack willremain intact until the pull on the tow line breaks successive lashings.Alternatively a crew member may be detailed to cut the lashings atproper intervals.

In loading a string of units with deflated pontoons into a vessel oneend of the string is towed into the flooded well section of the shipuntil a crane, cargo hoist, or the like, can be connected to thejunction of the first two units to enter the vessel. As the hoistoperates the two units jackknife together. When vertical they are lashedin position, and the hoist then lifts the third and fourth units attheir connection line, and so on until the entire string has beenstacked.

The number of units in a string is purely a matter of choice. Hinge pinscan be extracted easily to break the stack into sub-assemblies of anydesired length.

It should be noted that the tubes 42 of the side panels are alsoprovided at their ends, with hinge plates Hi l extending upwardly andhinge plates lilfi extending downwardly. In stacking and unstacking theunits the side panels behave exactly as the main frame.

While a simple string of units in series will prove useful for narrowbridges or landing ramps, it will quite often be desirable to assemble anumber of strings in parallel to provide a floating wharf, an aircraftlanding deck, or a barge lighter. For this purpose I provide theoutboard frame members 23 with a pair of hinge plate members H0 so thatlateral connections may be established between adjacent units. Also eachof the tube s2 is provided with two pad eyes or hinge plates H2 designedfor interconnection through a rigid rectangular link member H4. Theconnections are shown completed in Fig. 6.

In assembling parallel strings of units they are first arranged as shownin Fig. 10, side by side with the side panels in horizontal position.Then the links I I l are pinned in place to connect the hinge members H2and the struts 46 are disengaged from their clips. The next step is toswing the side panels down to the position shown in Fig. 6 at which timethe locking struts 46 are pinned in the clevises 54. The hinge membersH0 will then be in register and may be secured by hinge pins. Thisprocess may be facilitated if the pontoons are inflated after the linksH4 have been secured in place, because the main deck portion of theunits will rise relative to the side panels which can then be veryeasily swung down for locking.

It should be noted that the generally rectangular outline Of the linksH4 is important in restraining horizontal relative motion betweenadjacent links, although hinge action in the vertical plane is notimpeded.

While I have described in detail the preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is to be understood that convenient variations tosuit-particular needs will suggest themselves to those skilled in theart. 4

I have notattempted to recite all the possible uses to which myinvention maybe put .Although I believe the term buoyancy unit is themost apt, I do not mean to exclude the use of the structure of myinvention as elements of a suspension bridge, land ramp, or the like. Onthe other hand, I also contemplate the use of the individual units orgroups thereof as life rafts mounted forlaunching in conventionalfashion, whereby a vessel may carry enough rafts for abandon shippurposes as well as for combination into strings'for wharves, barges,ramps, etc.

Having now described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent.of the United States is:

l. A buoyancy unit comprising 'a first group of parallel airtight tubes,a second group of parallel airtight tubes arranged transversely to saidfirst group and secured thereto to form a rectangular skeletal framehaving interstices, a deck secured to said frame, a collapsibleinflatable pontoon disposed beneath said deck within each of saidinterstices of the frame, a conduit leading from each pontoonto one ofsaid tubes, and a valve controlling said conduit.

2. A buoyancy unit comprising a plurality of tubular members united toform a skeletal frame and a plurality of airtight compartments, aplurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed adjacent saidframe, a conduit connecting each pontoon to one of said airtightcompartments, a pressure operated valve controllably connected to eachof said conduits, a loop conduit connecting 'all of said valves inseries, a pressure operated master valve controllably connected to saidloop conduit, a supply conduit connected to one of said compartments andto said master valve, and a manually operated valve in said supplyconduit, whereby said manually operated valve may be actuated to openthe supply conduit to said master valve and thereby cause the mastervalve to open the pressure operated valves controlling the conduitsleading to the pontoons.

3. A trussed buoyancy unit comprisinga plu rality of tubular membersunited to form a skeletal frame and a plurality of airtightcompartments, a plurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposedadjacent said frame, a conduit connecting each pontoon to one of saidairtight compartments, a pressure operated valve controllably connectedto each of said conduits, and means operatively associated with saidpressure operated valves for simultaneously applying pressure to saidpressure-operated valves to cause simultaneous inflation of saidpontoons.

4. A buoyancy unit comprising a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, aplurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed within said frame,valved conduits connecting each pontoon with one of said tubes, aplurality of rods each hinged at one end to one side of said frame, atube secured to the other ends of said rods, braces connecting said rodsand said tube, and means operatively associated with said rod and framefor locking said rods, braces and tube at a predetermined angle withrespect to said frame.

5. A buoyancy unit comprising a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, aplurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed within said frame,valved conduits connecting each pontoon with one of said tubes, andaslur of bin e plates seemed o. each end oi said .i the hin e s tes atem end thereof exten mg uewa dla above the name. and the hinge plates atthe opposite end thereof extending downwardly beneath the frame.

A buo a cy u t comprisin a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, at m ralityof collapsible inflat able .p'ontoons disposed within said frame valaledconduits connecting eaeh pontoon width one o1? said tubes, a pluralityof hinge plates seemed to each end of said unit, the hinge "plates atone endthereof extending upwardly above the :Erame and the hinge platesat the opposite end thereof extending downwardly beneath frame, and

a plurality-of hinge plates seemed to. the. slides of the .frame,whereby a phn'ality .of units may be secured serially in :end the endrelation, or .in side-by-side relation, or both.

7 A buoyancy unit comprising :a tublrlar mectangular frame divided intoa plurality of airti ght compartments, a deck secured' to said frame, apluralityof collapsible inflatable pon'toons rlis posed beneath saiddeck adi aoent said frame, a valved conduit connecting each \pontoon toone of said compartments, a trussed panel pivotally connected to eachside 0T said frame, a "plurality of h-inge plates --secured to the sidesof the frame, and 'a link pivotally connected ts the outer of each ofsaid panels, whereby "two frames may be brought in s'ide by siderelation, :connected first by said links, the truss qaanels :sw-un down,and then conneete dby said hinge plates.

3. A landing ramp comprising a series of rectangula-r buoyancy unitshinged together :at their ends in an articulated relation and folded onedge in stacked *formation whereby the whole assembly may be milled intoextended horizom ta'l positien by traction appliedto the endmost unit ofthe stack, a "folding reinforcing *truss panel memberhinged to the sideof eaoh unit and movable -from infolded inoperative position to asubstantially right angular operative position, and rigid strutspivotally secured "to "said unit "and detaohably secured to said "panelfor locking the paneflin-operative-position.

9. A "folding buoyant deck or the like comprising a plurality ofbuoyancy units each inluri n moral t o hollow ht m mbers joined, ndconsti irie a'bu en ram apolua ity of ll psible-infl t b n nt qn ecu dto the bottom oi e idh n an o n ed'to sa d me. and a s, co t me, theconnectionsfto and stacking, eaeh buoyancy un eomp ieihe a lmzaiity ofhollow airtight strength re lying generally in the same plane and join dto eunstitute a buoyant frame, ,a plurality M dollapsible inflatablepontoons secured to said frame, and -valved oonnections from the frameto the *pontoons, whereby compressed gas be stored-in said frame andreleased to inflate saidpontoons.

11. A portable folding buoyant deck mommies mg a series of buoyancyunits each including a plurality :of hollowairtight strength memberslying in the same general p'ialne and joined to oonsti tdte a. buoyantrectangular frame, a rigid truss pivotal-1y secured to one side of saidframe, and means operative'ly associated with said truss and frame forlocking said truss in position at a predetermined angle with respect tosaid frame; and hinges pivotailyconneetingsueeessive units in saidseries, said 'l ringes =projeeting alternately in opposite directionsfrom the planes of said units.

12. ,A portable folding; buoyant deck comprising a series 'of units eachincluding a plurality of rigid members lying generally in the same planeand joined to ons'titute -a skeletal *fra-me, means associated with saidframe for storing compressed gas a plurality of coilapsilole inflatablepiontoons secured to said )frame and connected to said storage means;and. hinges interconnecting said .unit to perniitthe series or units'tobe'folded'into stack formation.

dte'ferences Cited in the *fileof this patent UN IED td aATiEs BAZEE LISNumber Name Date 23911059 'Ma'clt'arren Dec. 118, 19:45 2323;832 GearonJuly 1'5, $1.941

LEORE GN LPAZIIE TTS Member Countr Da e brad-i2 tqerma iy Res-m L931

